United Nations Security Council urges India, Pakistan to ‘refrain from unilateral action; Kashmir issue should be resolved through UN resolutions: Chinese envoy Zhang
Observer Report
New York
Members of the United Nations Security Council met for the first time in over five decades on Friday to discuss the critical situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir, urging parties to the dispute to refrain from taking any unilateral action.
The UNSC met behind closed doors at the request of China and Pakistan to discuss the Indian government’s recent decision to revoke the special status of Occupied Kashmir.
The council had taken up the issue of the critical situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir after more than 50 years since it was last discussed on the platform, effectively rejecting India’s stance that Occupied Kashmir was an internal issue and not an internationally recognised dispute. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, welcomed the UNSC meeting and said the country was “grateful to China for calling this meeting”.
“The voice of the Kashmiri people have been heard today. The fact that this meeting took place is testimony to the fact that this is an internationally recognised dispute. This meeting has reaffirmed the validity of the UNSC resolutions on the status of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said, speaking to reporters after the meeting.
“I think this meeting nullifies that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter for India. Speaking to reporters after the UNSC meeting, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, said members of the Security Council feel serious concern regarding the human rights situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and that parties to the dispute should refrain from unilateral action that may aggravate the situation.
Zhang told reporters that the situation in Kashmir is “already very tense and very dangerous.”
“The Security Council has just held an informal consultation and listened very carefully to the briefings and reports from the secretariat including the briefing from the military observer group on the ground that helped us understand the situation better. The Secretary General also issued a statement a few days ago,” said Zhang.
“Members have expressed that there are serious concerns concerning the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. They are also concerned about the human rights situation there and it is the general view of the members that parties concerned should refrain from taking any unilateral action which might further aggravate tensions.”
“China holds the view that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir is an issue left from history between India and Pakistan. According to UNSC resolutions, the status of Kashmir is undecided and it is an internationally recognized dispute. The Kashmir issue should be resolved properly through peaceful means in accordance with the UN charter, the relevant SC resolutions and bilateral agreements. This represents the international community’s consensus,” said China’s ambassador to the UN.
“It is obvious that the constitutional amendment by India has changed the status quo in Kashmir, causing tension in the region. China is deeply concerned about the current situation and opposes any unilateral action that complicates the situation,” he added. It is extremely rare for the Security Council to discuss Kashmir, which has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence from Britain in 1947. The last time there was a full Security Council meeting on the Himalayan region was in 1965.Friday’s discussion was not considered a full security council meeting but rather referred to as closed-door consultations, diplomats said. Pakistan had called for an urgent meeting of the UNSC on Monday in a letter to UNSC President Joanna Wronecka.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi on Friday said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir may be locked up and their voices not heard in their own homes and their own land, but their voices were heard at the meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
The meeting had been called by China on Pakistan’s request to discuss the prevailing situation in occupied
